Chairs, furniture and other articles typically include rigid panels which may serve various purposes. For example, many chairs are constructed of seat and backrest panels which are formed or molded substrates onto which a padded composite structure is attached. The chair panels are designed to support the weight of an occupant of the chair with the foam padding being used to provide comfort to the occupant. However, such panels are often bulky and can significantly increase the chair's overall weight while decreasing the chair's stacking/storage density. Solid surface chair panels also provide very little breathability, which contributes negatively to the comfort of the occupant.
Furniture such as dressers and so-called “entertainment centers” are usually constructed of wood panels having a laminated and/or varnished exterior finish. These wood panels add tremendous weight to the furniture. Additionally, wood finishes are notoriously susceptible to damage. Most wood furniture panels are not designed to be easily removed and replaced with a new and undamaged panel, so the furniture's wood finish must be maintained in order to keep an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
One approach to resolving the disadvantages of prior art chair panels has been to provide a single-layer elastic membrane that is pre-stretched and mounted to a molded frame. However, the manufacture of such a chair is tremendously complicated and requires a very large molding machine. Also, the structural support and user comfort exhibited by the pre-stretched membranes has been found lacking.
What is needed, therefore, is a panel that overcomes problems and disadvantages associated with prior art panels.